How do college students normally function? When I think of this question my mind instantly wanders to the days of no sleep, long nights and plenty of procrastination fed by copious cups of coffee and the various distractions of the internet. Oh… and alcohol. Let’s not forget the alcohol. But how does this lifestyle actually affect our daily performance? Is is really that detrimental to our cognitive and physiological function? Yes. Yes, it is. All of the above mentioned activities produce a response in our bodies that releases a chemical known as cortisol. Cortisol is the reason why we feel stress. It is the body’s way of returning to homeostasis after a demand has been placed on us. Essentially, it is why we fret and worry. So. Whenever we get less then the recommended amount of sleep each night (i.e. 6 hours, although 8 is preferred) we create a stressor which releases the cortisol into our blood stream. Now. Let’s take the typical college student and say that once they wake up from their partial psuedo-sleep they head to dunkin doughnts for a few glazed cakes and a full pot of coffee. Well… even though that caffeine may provide you with a morning boost to get you through the typical 8 am history class (maybe) you have just provided another stimulus for the release of cortisol. Now your lack of sleep compounded with that extra pot of coffee has heightened your cortisol level to a new extreme, further inhibiting your daily performance (cortisol inhibits concentration/focus, attention span, ability to process information, etc.) Now. Let’s say that you have been studying for a test. It is now test day and you feel that maybe just maybe […]

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I work at a gym. More specifically I work at Boomfit. Yes, I know this is an obvious statement but there is a point that I am getting at. All throughout the year, every day, I see people walk in and walk out of the gym. This time of year is usually the busiest. This is the time of year where people make a goal to get in shape, to lose weight, to become healthier, etc. However it never fails that around mid March the motivated hoards that consistently come to the gym throughout the months of January and February begin to fade to something more resembling a pack. No longer a hoard these are the ones who are motivated enough to continue working towards their goals. November and December roll around. The pack has now become a select few. These are the truly devoted. The ones who have thrown everything out the window to achieve their fitness goals. Excuses don’t matter. Holidays come and go and they are still here. Still working. These are the people in the gym that I know by name. I know their boyfriend or girlfriends name. I may have had dinner at their house, know what their GPA is from last semester, have petted their dog on more than one occasion, and know what they looked like 25 pounds ago. They don’t make excuses. They stay committed. They make it happen. So my question to all of those who are embarking on their new fitness goals. Will the gym staff become close friends. Will I recognize you as a regular, motivated individual one, two maybe 3 years from now and tell your new friends how dedicated you were to […]

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How does our health compare with that of our Hunter-gatherer ancestors? When speaking in overall wellness terms; that is, freedom from disease without the need to down massive quantities of horse pills; are we really better off now than we were clubbing mammoths to death and dragging them to our caves? Simply put… Not im my opinion. Our ancestors pre-agricultural revolution were quite healthy. Keep in mind they didnt have anything close to the penicillin drug. Not even a simple generic-brand ibuprofen. They were tall or taller than the average height of modern day Americans and Europeans (excluding Yao Ming), which indicated a very nutritious diet. They had low infant mortality and had better than 10 percent of the population live well past their 60s. Cancer was a rarity, diabetes was almost non-existant, cardio was outstanding (no quadruple bypass). Strength and endurance was on the level of modern athletes. Fast-forward to now…. We all know our societal problems well enough at this point. Just take the polar opposite of the above paragraph. In fact a trained forensic scientist or medical anthropologist would be able to tell you within mere minutes is an ancient skeleton was one of a hunter-gatherer or that of an agricultualist due to the overall poor health of the later. So the benefits of eating that which our Hunter-Gatherer ancestors did are quite remarkable. From first-hand experience I have tried it for 40 days straight. I have to say I have never felt better. Even my occasional acne was absolutely non-existent. However, not even a week after I went back to my ‘traditional’ diet of chicken wings and ramen noodle I managed to procure a miniature Mt. Rushmore on my right cheek. […]

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At what point in time would you consider to be mankind’s most defining moment? In other words, what event in our history is the most significant to our current way of life; what defines our culture as “modern?” Take a little time to think about it… My answer to this is much more simple than you might have originally thought. It is not the holocaust or some other massive genocide, it is not vaccinations (i hate needles anyway and try to avoid the annual flu shot), and no it is not when you found out you also married into your spouse’s lousy credit. My vote goes to the agricultural revolution and here is why… Before this time human’s were distinct hunters and gatherers. We had to roam to find our food. When one source was depleted it meant that it was time to pack up the tepee, grab the kids and follow the mammoth herd to a more bountiful land. Some thought one mammoth herd was headed in a better direction and maybe split off one way while others decided that they would forge their own path to where they believed the most food could be found. the development of the agricultural revolution marked the first time in history where we could finally settle down in one location and supply ourselves with a plentiful source of food through the farming of crops and animals. We grew new crops, cross bred animals and plants to create heartier organisms and started to settle in permanent groups. These groups specialized and grew into what we now call ‘cities’ and this paved the way for trade between the designated settlements. The agricultural revolution was THE most important event in […]

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Alright guys the holidays are over! It is time to get back into the swing of things. By that I mean time to eat better, time to exercise more and time to do whatever else you plan to do or not to do come new year’s eve! No this does not mean wait until the new year to stop eating that holiday dessert that grandma is so good at making. That will be about 5 extra pounds later and a diminished lack of motivation. SO START NOW! Below is a recipe for some molasses cookies that should curb your sweet tooth in the transition back to healthy eating. Yes. they are paleo. Ingredients 2 eggs, whisked 1 cup sunflower seed butter (or nut butter such as almond butter) ¼ cup molasses ½ cup coconut sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger ¼ cup coconut flour 2 tablespoons tapioca flour (or arrowroot starch) 1 teaspoon baking soda pinch of salt extra molasses, to garnish cookies Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sunflower seed butter, and molasses. In a medium bowl, mix together coconut sugar, cinnamon, ginger, coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda and salt. Pour half of the dry mixture into the wet mixture, mix well, then add the rest and mix until well combined. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat sheet. Use a cookie scoop or spoon to scoop tablespoon sized cookie dough drops on the baking sheet. This should make 18 cookies so you may need to use 2 baking sheets. Baking for 10 minutes, until cookies are firm on the top. Do not overcook, you want them to stay chewy. Look […]

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It’s only 6:30 in the morning and already my day at work has been nothing short of entertaining. The various confused looks coming into the studio rival that of the look of Dorie on Finding Nemo after meeting a new face… stunned. If you are unfamiliar with what I am talking about feel free to youtube. In short, over the weekend myself and the other Boomfit staff members took a couple hours to rearrange the personal training studio. This was an attempt to maximize the amount of available space and create a more open atmosphere. The results you can see for yourself above. Or you can come visit us… I would prefer the later. I will admit that I even had to do a double take this morning. And I was the one doing the original moving around! Nonetheless I like the end product. I have the say the idea of the rest of our gym members coming home from Christmas break to witness the new product will be nothing short of entertaining. More on the Paleo Concept tomorrow!

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I have been receiving many questions on diet the past few days so I decided to make a post about diet. Maybe this will alleviate the multitude of questions that have been thrown my way. Long story short… answering to 36 different people (yes I started counting) what the best way to diet is tends to drive me up the wall. So I have a detailed account below… You have probably heard it mentioned a few times but the best overall way to eat is paleo. Now, without the fail the follow up question is “Well, what exactly is that other than a caveman diet?” Easiest answer… It is the way the cavemen ate during the paleolithic era (also the most sarcastic answer, however I can’t help my immaturity). Imagine a world before the agricultural revolution, before ‘God made a farmer,’ (kudos if you got that reference), before grain became subsidized by our government for mass production. During the time of said caveman above, the only way to obtain food was through hunting wooly mammoths and other unfortunate ‘food’ creatures with spears along with gathering what was readily available to eat in its raw state. Processed foods weren’t available at the time. Cavemen did not have the option of whether to choose the tobasco or the original flavored Cheese-its. They only ate non-processed, natural foods. Grain does not fall into this category either. In the old days (Paleolithic era; hence the name of the diet) grain was considered inedible. Cavemen did not have the time or patience to sit down with several stalks of wheat and smash the rock-hard hull of of each individual grain, throw it through some ‘magical process’ to make it edible […]

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Alright everyone we have some exciting news coming up. This upcoming New Year’s Resolution season we (i.e. Boomfit Personal Training Department) will be holding our annual Transformation Challenge starting in January. However, there is a twist this year that we think will become a permanent change… Instead of the winner being given a cash prize, this year the winner will be choosing a charity. This designated charity will receive a portion of the entry fees for the challenge. During the planning stages of this event we figured that the amount could potentially exceed several THOUSAND dollars! We are very excited for this opportunity to “Impact our Community” and cannot wait to see what the New Year will bring us. So, on that note if you or somebody you know is interested in participating in this event to support a charity give us a shout out at our office or stop by and schedule a consultation!

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Here is a quote that I found about setting goals that inspired today’s post: “Set goals that yield a positive effect on your life whenever you think about them, long before the final outcome is achieved. Treat goal-setting as a way to enhance your present reality, not as a way to control the future.” Especially during this time of year with New Years resolutions around the corner goal-setting tends to become the subject that many flock to. However, the majority of society tends to balk on their goals. This is not necessarily due to a lack of personal fortitude and will power (although I will say it doesn’t help the matter). More often than not there is just no effective process set in place before the setting of goals. This post is intended to help with the process of goal setting in order to better achieve desired personal goals. 1. Lofty goals are fine. In fact sometimes these are more easily attained than simplistic goals. *Note: key word is sometimes. For example. If you want to become a famous actor… 99% of the competing society has already taken themselves out of the equation. That leaves 5% of the interested sample size that you are left to compete with. Mathematics is with you as your competition for those highly prized spots is markedly less than those who settle to compete for the “more reasonable positions.” The trick here is knowing how to approach the situation. Again 99% of the world is content with mediocre achievement!! The fishing is best where the fewest go. Puts things in perspective. Doesn’t it? 2. Ensure that your goal is time-bound. I don’t like anything that takes longer than 6 months. We are human. […]

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As many of you may have already heard Boomfit a.k.a College Station Crossfit is having our annual Christmas Party this Sunday! This year it will be held at the Kyle house. Specifics are below: Where: The Kyle House 800 S. Bryan Avenue Bryan, TX 77803 When: Sunday, Dec. 15 Time: 5 pm – 8 pm (or 1700 to 2000 for those military folks) Dress however you feel like! If you decide that your skivies are a good idea then make sure they are Christmas themed! For those of you who are interested we will be holding a white elephant gift exchange which is optional. So for the Scrooge who doesn’t bring a gift during the season of giving… just kidding. It really is optional. Just make sure the gift is not more than $20. Hope to see you all there!